Progress in the development of peroxide-based anti-parasitic agents

Progress made in the past decade pertaining to the development of anti-parasitic agents based on artemisinin is presented. Apart from discussions on important derivatives obtained through functionalization at the C-3, C-9, C-10 and O-11 positions of artemisinin, an outline on its seco analogs and artemisinin bundles are given for a broader perspective on structure–activity relationships. Success with synthetic peroxides, drug–hybrid approaches, broad-spectrum anti-infective properties of peroxide compounds and a survey on peroxide-containing natural products other than artemisinin with available biological data are included to highlight recent trends and avenues for future research. A supplementary material with details on the biological properties of a larger collection of molecules belonging to the above structural classes is also given for reference.